Gesualdo Six | Lux Aeterna
20 June 2026, St James’ Church, Sydney
Hot on the heels of the announcement that Australia’s premier vocal chamber ensemble, The Song Company, was to enter liquidation the wonderful St James’ Music Program presented the popular English vocal group Gesualdo Six in a concert of beautifully sung music from times gone by and newer works that were clearly rooted in music from centuries ago.
That nigh on 300 people attended this recital shows that Sydney clearly has an appetite for great vocal music and the demise of The Song Company is an immense cultural loss. For four decades The Song Company was a beacon to audiences with their excellent programming and high class concerts. Many of our leading composers also were at the forefront in their programs and the cultural diversity was always evident. Maybe a billionaire or two could show their credentials as keepers of the good arts and not only bail them out but set up a foundation to keep them going for at least another four decades.
Gesualdo Six have a slick show that starts with the members, all wonderful singers in their own right, in different parts of the church eventually coming together for the 3rd work in the repertoire, Clamaverunt Ad Dominum by Orlando de Lassus. This is music of rich harmonic colours and complexity and with Plange Quasi Virgo by Carlo Gesualdo were clearly the standout compositions on the evening. Plange Quasi Virgo was sung with great energy, drama and dynamics that showed the ensemble in its best light.
All of the music chosen was slow in nature and I wonder if the artistic thinking is stuck somewhere inside the attitudes of church music, of English cathedral schools and music-making. Devotional yes, but as concert music it seriously lacked variety and therefore interest as the concert went on.
